Do Tell: What Would you Do?

A friend of mine recently went on a first date with a guy she met through mutual friends. They were engaged in great conversation until he, gasp--- corrected her grammar!! Now it's one thing when your mother corrects your grammar, but ladies, do tell, what would your reaction be if you were on a date with a man that barely knew you and had the audacity to correct your grammar during flirtatious conversation?

It would all depend on the context in which he made the comment. Body language, tone of voice, eye contact, and personal interests would all factor into my evaluation of the situation. When some people correct you, you can tell that are socially awkward shy and are excited and relieved to make a comment about something they are familiar with, and are completely oblivious to the impression they are making. Others radiate smugness and arrogance. I don't mean to excuse bad manners, but fundamentally, a good heart takes precedence over good ettiquette, and plenty of socially awkward geeks have hearts of gold.

I wouldn't care I'd be glad he did it. I hate bad grammar. ANd I've been known to correct a few people (not ones I just met though) We all use our slang and have funny (different) ways of saying things but if you are serious and don't know any better I think it's better to be corrected so you don't make the same mistake. My two new bosses love them to death but one says "all's" all the TIME!!! and it just grates my nerves and the other one says "ain't got no"

that would irritate me. i dated a guy who corrected me a lot. I am an educated person, and I know when to use proper grammar and pronunciation. However, I am from a southern state and we use pronunciations and expressions on a casual basis that wouldn't be appropriate elsewhere. The fact that I used those expressions was a joke in itself, yet he felt the need to correct me. Seriously, it's arrogant AND ignorant. If you can't understand my tone, OR accept my occasional regional dialect, then that's pretty much the end of that.

this guy i was seeing for a while kept correcting me when i would say certain italian words or names of restaurants, because he was "italian" and had "studied abroad in italy" for a year so i guess he was an "expert"; it really pissed me off - we just totally broke off all contact last week and now that i see this post i just realized how much it really bothered me; and i can see how arrogant it made him look; what an ass!

I am a writer and editor and was an English major. Irregardlessly (hahaha, just joking), I don't think it's necessary--or cool--to correct anyone's grammar as they are speaking. There's a big difference between casual conversation and writing a professional e-mail. During a grammar course I took in college, the professor said that the rules of grammar for spoken English are constantly changing as certain phrases and ways of speaking become acceptable and commonplace. I personally agree, and think that it's fine when, for example, someone asks how you're doing today and you choose to respond "I'm good." It is a rather common response and I think it is fine to say instead of "I'm doing well." If it isn't confusing for people to understand, then there is really no harm in saying it that way. Needless to say, I would be very turned off if a date corrected me during conversation. This dude needs to relax or he'll never get any.

bad grammar bothers me..but if its someone i dont really know..who am I to correct them? with that being said I have been in this situation the guy was a total snob...and corrected me...I asked for my part of the check..paid for it then left..havent seen him since then

I'm with everyone else...the only time I correct anyone's grammer is if I am editing a paper they wrote. I really don't care whether someone knows how to speak correctly. If anyone ever corrects me, I usually start spitting out the mistakes, just to get on their nerves.
Mistakes is grammer aren't that uncommon in Alabama, ya'll.

gooniette: I have a coworker where every other word out of her mouth is "irregaurdless" and it drives me up the wall. Completely nutso. I just feel like saying "you can regaurdless instead. ATleast it is a word."
As for this grammar thing, I would feel embarrassed I wasn't using proper grammar. I have a friend that does this, so, it wouldn't phase me, but i would be upset with myself for not speaking properly infront of someone new...what a bad impression i would have made.

I'm a grammar nut, but I'm also a manners nut. And in this case (and probably most cases), manners take precedence!
If that happened to me though, I would probably spend the rest of the date waiting for him to mess something up grammatically and then jump on him. I guess the competitive spirit in me would want to humiliate him :)
I can't imagine there being another date after that!

maybe it's one of his pet peeves, like when people say 'irregardless', which is not a word.
it is pretty rude though. i waited about six months before i tried to correct my boyfriend's grammar, now he says things incorrectly just to tease me.

I am a real stickler over grammar, but to correct someone you barely know on a first date... That would be a total turn off! I have no problem correcting my family and friends, but even then I try to do it jokingly.